Comac and Brasserie Mélusine – 20 years together for quality beer
The story of Brasserie Mélusine is a captivating journey through the world of craft beer, enriched by a nearly two-decade bond with Comac. Since 2007, Comac has been providing the brewery with highly technological filling lines for the packaging of natural, quality beer. Discover more about this valuable collaboration.
In this article:
- The story of Comac and Brasserie Mélusine
- Why Brasserie Mélusine chose Comac
- The Comac keg line installed at Mélusine in 2023
- Extraordinary results and a promising future
The story of Comac and Brasserie Mélusine
Located in Chambretaud, in the Vendée French region, Brasserie Mélusine was founded in 2001. Ever since, it has been crafting 100% natural craft beers, known for their dedication to quality and authenticity.
In 2007, the paths of Comac and Mélusine crossed for the first time with the installation of the first Comac keg washing and filling line, capable of handling 30 kegs per hour. This has significantly improved Brasserie Mélusine’s production capacity and helped reach new quality milestones.
By 2009, the brewery joined forces with Brasserie Canardou, specialized in organic beers, and in 2016, installed a second Comac keg washing and filling line, this time with a capacity of 60 kegs per hour. This further investment strengthened Brasserie Mélusine’s position as a benchmark name in the craft beer industry.
Local products and quality are a priority. For this reason, Mr. Laurent Boiteau (Director of Brasserie Mélusine) founded a commercial holding named “Newbeers” in 2020, with its first acquisition being Brasserie Parisis (77380 Combs la Ville), followed in 2022 by PAGE24 (62160 Aix Noulette). This demonstrates Brasserie Mélusine’s ambition and ongoing determination to expand and offer high-quality beers to an ever-growing audience.
2023 marked a significant year with the installation of the third Comac keg washing and filling line, capable of filling up to 130 kegs per hour. Moreover, the company achieved a production and sale of over 30,000 hectoliters of beer per year.
2024 will pinpoint a new chapter in the history of Comac machines at Brasserie Mélusine: the 2016 filling line will be transferred to Brasserie PAGE24 at the beginning of the year, highlighting the expansion and ongoing success of this precious collaboration in craft beer packaging.
Why Brasserie Mélusine chose Comac
We asked Laurent Bertauld, Production Manager of Brasserie Mélusine, why they chose to rely on us for their craft beer production needs. The answer is clear: the quality of Brasserie Mélusine’s beers has been significantly improved due to Comac machines.
The durability of the materials used for our machines and the quality of the beer produced have been the strengths of this successful partnership. Additionally, Comac commercial and technical team established an excellent relationship of trust with Brasserie Mélusine, providing consistent support and assistance.
Another key factor in choosing Comac was the ability to customize many machine settings, allowing Mélusine to achieve specific results and maintain high production standards.
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The Comac keg line installed at Mélusine in 2023
As we have seen, over the years, Brasserie Mélusine has invested in a series of keg washing and filling lines from Comac.
The latest solution, installed in May 2023, is a high-capacity line capable of cleaning and filling up to 120 kegs per hour, featuring a range of customizations to best meet the specific requirements of the brewery.
The plant’s configuration includes a keg external washer that reuses water from the internal washing of kegs to reduce waste. Then, an internal pre-wash with 2 heads completes the cleaning process with a caustic solution.
The filling process is managed by two fillers, 4+1T model. At these machines’ outlet, two static weighers are placed for a further final-level monitoring. The line can clean and fill both one-way and primarily 20 and 30-litre stainless steel kegs, which make up the majority of the brewery’s production.
A unique component of this setup is the Comac saturation unit, capable of automatically carbonating the beer with continuous CO2 content monitoring, contributing to maintaining product quality.
Another distinctive feature of the Comac plant is the ability to perform Cleaning in Place (CIP) not only for the filling lines, but also for the BBTs (Bright Beer Tank). This innovative approach helps to maximize the time and energy spent in production processes, also due to the ability to set different cleaning routines for each requirement.
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Extraordinary results and a promising future
Brasserie Mélusine is extremely satisfied with its new Comac plant. After a period of fine-tuning, production has exceeded expectations, achieving an efficiency of 130-140 kegs per hour instead of the expected 120 for 20-liter kegs, with steady product and quality consistency.
For the future, the brewery plans to make further improvements, including:
- New additions to its production room
- Expansion of its CCT and BBT tank department
- Construction of a new logistics building
- 10-20% annual growth in the sales plan
This nearly twenty-year success story with Brasserie Mélusine is an extraordinary example of cooperation and commitment to quality in craft beer production. We are proud to continue growing together to meet the requirements of the international beer and beverage market.
Discover more about our craft beer packaging solutions!